REQUESTING EMERGENCY SERVICES VIA REMOTE CONTROL

• US 20110093908A1
• Filed: 10/21/2009
• Published: 04/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pratt, James, Van Vleck, Paul
• Granted Patent: US 9,426,424 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/106
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/59 for emergency or urgency
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/52 of users
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42222 Additional components integrated in the remote control device, e.g. timer, speaker, sensors for detecting position, direction or movement of the remote control, microphone or battery charging device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A method and system for contacting emergency service providers may allow using a remote control (RC) at a multimedia content distribution network (MCDN) client location. An MCDN user may use the RC, which may be configured to control customer premises equipment at the MCDN client, to signal an emergency event. In response, an MCDN server may be queried for emergency user information associated with the MCDN client and/or the MCDN user. Based on the emergency user information, third parties, such as emergency service providers, medical service providers, or private persons, may be contacted via the MCDN. A communications channel, including audio and/or video, between an emergency service provider and the MCDN client may be initiated based on the emergency user information.

Claims

1. A method for contacting emergency service providers over a multimedia content distribution network (MCDN), comprising:

receiving, from a remote control (RC) at an MCDN client, user input indicative of an emergency event, wherein the RC is configured to control customer premises equipment (CPE) of the MCDN;

querying an MCDN server for emergency user information associated with the MCDN client; and

based on the emergency user information obtained from the MCDN server, notifying, via the MCDN, at least one emergency service provider of the emergency event.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to said receiving the user input from the RC, receiving emergency user information for an MCDN account associated with the MCDN client.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said notifying includes sending a message via at least one of:

email, a voice-over-Internet-protocol connection, a wireless text-messaging system, an instant messaging system, and an MCDN messaging system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the emergency user information includes contact information for at least one of:

emergency service providers, medical service providers, and personal individuals.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said notifying includes sending a message including at least one of:

an identifier for the MCDN client, a location of the MCDN client, a globally unique identifier, a location of CPE at the MDCN client location, and network connection information for the MCDN client.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said network connection information includes information usable to initiate an audio connection using the CPE.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said network connection information includes information usable to initiate a video connection using the CPE.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein said network connection information includes information usable to initiate a bidirectional communication connection using the CPE.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from a notified emergency service provider, a request to establish a communication connection using the CPE, wherein the communication connection includes at least one of;

an audio connection and a video connection; and

establishing the communication connection with the notified emergency service provider.

10. A customer premises equipment (CPE) for use at a client location of a multimedia content distribution network (MCDN), comprising:

a processor configured to access memory media,

wherein the memory media includes instructions executable by the processor to;

receive user input indicative of an emergency event;

access emergency user information associated with an MCDN user account for the CPE; and

based on the emergency user information, send, via the MCDN, a message to an emergency service provider, the message indicating the emergency event and a location associated with the MCDN user account.

11. The CPE of claim 10, wherein the emergency user information includes contact information for the emergency service provider and location information for the CPE.

12. The CPE of claim 10, further comprising:

a local transceiver coupled to the processor,

wherein the memory media further include processor instructions executable to;

receive the user input from a remote control (RC) via the local transceiver.

13. The CPE of claim 12, further comprising processor instructions executable to:

determine a position of the RC relative to a plurality of radio-frequency identification sensors at the MCDN client location; and

use the position as the location associated with the MCDN user account.

14. The CPE of claim 10, further comprising:

a peripheral bus interface coupled to the processor,

wherein the memory media further include processor instructions executable to;

receive, from the emergency service provider, a request to establish a communication connection using a peripheral device coupled to the peripheral bus interface; and

establish the communication connection with the notified emergency service provider.

15. The CPE of claim 13, wherein the peripheral device includes an audio device, and wherein the communication connection includes an audio connection.

16. The CPE of claim 13, wherein the peripheral device includes an imaging device, and wherein the communication connection includes an image connection.

17. The CPE of claim 16, wherein the peripheral device includes a video camera and the image connection includes a video connection.

18. Computer-readable memory media, including executable instructions for accessing emergency services via a remote control (RC) configured to control customer premises equipment of a multimedia content distribution network (MCDN), said instructions executable to:

receive, from the RC, user input indicative of an emergency event;

obtain emergency user information associated with a user of the RC; and

based on the emergency user information, send a message to an emergency service provider, the message indicating the emergency event and a location associated with the RC.

19. The memory media of claim 18, wherein the emergency user information is obtained from an MCDN server.

20. The memory media of claim 18, wherein the message is sent via the MCDN.

21. The memory media of claim 18, further comprising instructions executable to:

receive, from the emergency service provider, a request to establish a communication connection via the MCDN; and

establish the communication connection with the emergency service provider.